Copyright ©1996, ProMotion, inc.
www@acloserlook.com
With the publication of 100 Meditations on Hope, Upper Room Books celebrates 60 years of offering hope and inspiration to all who have read The Upper Room devotional guide. Upper Room publications began when a group of women in Travis Park Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in San Antonio, Texas, brought their concern for a revival of prayer and Bible study in the family to the church. They believed that a guide to devotions was necessary if people were to engage both in regular family worship and personal study of the Scriptures. Out of this need, The Upper Room was born.
Today more than three million people read or hear these meditations each day. The guide is published in 67 editions and 45 languages. Drawing that many people closer to their Lord on a daily basis is good reason to celebrate.
This collection of meditations is drawn from those that have appeared in The Upper Room throughout its history. In making the selections, the editors did not forget that God speaks to men and women around the globe, and they have made selections from writers in 26 states and 18 countries. Meditations are built around the following themes:
The divisions may be a little forced, but the basis of all is clearly Christ and His atoning work. Hope is much more than an "easygoing optimism." As Emile Rousseau, Jr. from Louisiana wrote in selection #66, "Our hope is secure in Christ." But all of us need sustaining at times, and we build one another up as we share our experience of God's presence and guidance in our lives. Our hope is restored.
As you might expect, a variety of Scripture versions are used in the selections, but you never have the feeling that the passage has been forced to apply to the topic of hope.
General editor Mary Lou Redding writes in the introduction, "Our hope in God pulls us into the future." In 100 Meditations on Hope, the Upper Room makes clear that hope, based on the work of Christ, is the bridge from past to future.
Copyright ©1996, ProMotion, inc.
www@acloserlook.com